Graham Car Crash: 11-year-old Girl Pulled From Burning SUV

GRAHAM, WA — An 11-year-old girl and her mother are both safe and sound thanks to some quick work by a pair of law enforcement officers in Graham.

According to Graham Fire & Rescue, just after 5 p.m. Sunday, two cars collided in the 8200 block of 224th Street East, when one rear-ended the other. Shortly after the crash, both vehicles erupted in flames— while an 11-year-old girl was still unconscious and buckled in the back seat of one of the vehicles.

According to KOMO News, firefighters say the girl and her mother had been knocked unconscious when their car was rear-ended. The first officers on scene, a Pierce County deputy and an off-duty officer with the Tukwila Police Department, managed to quickly pull the mom from the car. She regained consciousness and told them her daughter was still trapped in the back.

Graham Fire says, that's when the two sprung into action: first using a fire extinguisher to put out all the flames they could, then breaking one of the SUV's back windows to get to the girl. One of the officers then reached inside and cut the girls seatbelt off, before pulling her from the burning vehicle. Firefighters say their quick work likely saved the girl's life.

As for the cause of the crash itself, that remains under investigation.